1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cell powered motor vehicle of the type including a tank containing methanol and water, and more particularly to a fuel cell powered motor vehicle including a reformer, a fuel cell and a secondary storage cell. An embodiment of the present invention is directed toward a fuel cell powered motor vehicle where hydrogen is generated from methanol and water by a reformer. Electricity is generated by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air by the use of a fuel cell. The generated electricity is stored in a secondary cell where it is supplied to the motor as required.
2. Description of the Background Art
An exemplary fuel cell powered motor vehicle is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 3-109126, entitled xe2x80x9cElectric Automobile Using Fuel Battery.xe2x80x9d This type of electric motor vehicle includes a fuel cell 13 for an energy source. The fuel cell 13 is disposed at a lower central position of the vehicle body 2 of the vehicle 1.
When using the fuel cell 13 in the aforementioned manner, a fuel tank for storing methanol, a reformer for generating hydrogen, and a secondary cell for storing generated electricity are necessary. The layout of the fuel cell 13, the reformer and the secondary cell is an important factor that must be considered when mounting these elements on the fuel cell powered motor vehicle.
An example of a fuel cell system will now be described based on the principle of power generation of the fuel cell. FIG. 6a and FIG. 6b are schematic views showing principles of power generation of the fuel cell. FIG. 6(a) shows a general principle of the electrolysis of water, and FIG. 6(b) shows the principle of power generation of the fuel cell.
The well-known principles of the electrolysis of water (H2O) are shown in FIG. 6(a). An electrolyte such as sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is dissolved in water (H2O) and is poured into a water tank 101. Electrodes 102, 103, such as platinum, are placed into the water tank 101 and are covered by containers 104, 105 respectively. A direct current power source 106 is connected between the electrodes 102, 103.
Oxygen gas (O2) is generated at the electrode 102 on the positive side and hydrogen gas (H2) is generated at the electrode 103 on the negative side. In these figures, the arrow (exe2x88x92) represents a flow of electric charge, and the arrow (H+) represents a flow of hydrogen ions.
In contrast to FIG. 6(a), as shown in FIG. 6(b), oxygen gas (O2) is filled in one of the containers 104 and hydrogen gas (H2) is filled in the other container 105. A load 107 is connected between both electrodes 102, 103 to allow oxygen gas (O2) and hydrogen gas (H2) to react electrochemically in water (H2O) containing electrolyte such as sulfuric acid (H2SO4). An electric current flows through the load 107 and the oxygen gas (O2) and the hydrogen gas (H2) are combined into water (H2O) as a result of this process.
In other words, the reversal of electrolysis of water shown in FIG. 6(b) is the principle of power generation of the fuel cell. An exemplary fuel cell system will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary fuel cell system
A fuel cell system 110 includes a fuel tank 111 for storing methanol, a reformer 112 for generating hydrogen from methanol and water, and a fuel cell 113 for allowing hydrogen generated by the reformer 112 and oxygen in the air to react electrochemically. The system 110 also includes a first pump 115 for supplying atmospheric air via an air cleaner 114 to the fuel cell 113, a second pump 116 for feeding hydrogen from the reformer 112 to the fuel cell 113, and a catalyst (catalysis) 117 for receiving water vapor discharged from the fuel cell 113 and carbon dioxide gas generated at the reformer 112 and passed through the fuel cell 113.
The catalyzer 117 reduces the amount of carbon dioxide gas that is released to the atmosphere. A water tank 118 for receiving water discharged from the catalyzer 117 and a secondary cell 119 for storing electricity generated in the fuel cell 113 are also provided in the system 110. A motor 122 is connected to the secondary cell 119 via a controller 121. The secondary cell 119 also stores electricity generated by and for the motor 122.
In FIG. 7, an outlined arrow (CH3OH) represents a flow of methanol, an outlined arrow (H2) represents a flow of hydrogen gas, an outlined arrow (O2) represents a flow of oxygen gas, an outline arrow (H2O+CO2) represents a flow of water vapor and carbon dioxide gas, respectively, and an outline arrow (H2O) represents a flow of water.
The present inventors have concluded that in order to utilize the fuel cell 113 as an energy source for a fuel cell powered motor vehicle, the fuel tank 111 for storing methanol, the reformer 112 for generating hydrogen, and the secondary cell 119 for storing electricity generated in the fuel cell 113 must be necessarily near one another. When mounting the fuel tank 111, the reformer 112, the fuel cell 113 and so forth on the fuel cell powered motor vehicle, the maintenance, design, weight balance and so on should be considered for optimization. Accordingly, a wide range of layouts for the fuel cell system 110 should be explored.
The present invention overcomes shortcomings associated with the background art and achieves other advantages not realized by the background art.
An object of the present invention is to provide an optimally arranged fuel cell, reformer, and secondary cell when mounting a fuel cell on a motor vehicle.
These and other objects are accomplished by a fuel cell powered motor vehicle comprising a vehicle body having a vehicle body frame; a front axle supporting a pair of front wheels and a rear axle supporting a pair of rear wheels; a drive shaft for transmitting power to the front axle and the rear axle, the drive shaft arranged in parallel with a horizontal straight line connecting a center of the front axle and a center of the rear axle; and a fuel cell system, the system including a fuel cell, a fuel tank, a reformer, a secondary cell, and a motor, wherein the fuel cell and the reformer are disposed in positions above the horizontal straight line connecting the center of the front axle and the center of the rear axle, and the fuel tank is disposed in a position above the fuel cell and the reformer.
These and other objects are further accomplished by a fuel cell powered motor vehicle comprising a vehicle body having a vehicle body frame; a front axle supporting a pair of front wheels and a rear axle supporting a pair of rear wheels; a drive shaft for transmitting power to the front axle and the rear axle, the drive shaft arranged in parallel with a horizontal straight line connecting a center of the front axle and a center of the rear axle; and a fuel cell system, the fuel cell system arranged in a plurality of positions above the drive shaft.
By arranging the fuel cell and the reformer above and in the vicinity of the horizontal straight line connecting the center of the front axle and the center of the rear axle, in the case where the fuel cell powered motor vehicle is a buggy classified as an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV), a drive shaft for transmitting a power to the front axle and the rear axle can easily be disposed, and a waterproofing measure for the fuel cell and the reformer can be easily incorporated into the vehicle""s design. In addition, by arranging a tank above the fuel cell and the reformer, methanol and water can be easily supplied.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.